Opening Night RED

Canberra choreographess Liz Lea is a force of fabulousness not to be f***d with.

Having made a name for herself over a career spanning 30 years in dance, she's fearless in the face of expressing even the trickiest themes through the power and strength of her creative art, and has newly launched her latest show, 'RED', which is currently running at Sydney's buzzy and beautiful Riverside Theatre, Parramatta.

Now, given the fact that this is a one woman solo dance show, and the connotations of the lustrous title, 'RED', one may automatically assume that it's a certain kind of, ahem, dance show. This piece, however, is, true to the fierce form that her fans admire her for, touches on a far more visceral subject - the very real, honest portrayal of her personal experience suffering through edometriosis.

Exploring the mediums of dance, video, music, and monologue, RED certainly isn't all blood, guts and grimacing, though. Liz's personable wit and strength in the face of adversity, literally, bleeds through every sensory orifice of screen, stage, and sound. She spins a sad-seeming narrative, through her childhood diagnosis, struggles throughout adulthood, and experiences in hospital and recovery, with a quick step and a quick with that has her, in numerous places, looking and laughing directly with members of the audience, and, knowing the extent of sickness that she's suffered, the amazing dance solos to up-tempo contemporary songs feel even more amazing feats of physical prowess and agility. The performance at The Riverside is set on a ground-floor stage, so it feels like she's standing right in front of you, 'telling you straight' about what she's been through - and boy are you proud of her.

A debilitating, excruciating, and yet still, even in 2018, not commonly or openly talked about female condition, endometriosis affects an approximate 1 in 10 women. Liz's suffering took place over the course of 20 years, and yet, in 60 captivating minutes, she succeeds, in joyfully, tragically, and above all truly honestly educating the audience and communicating her personal story with no questions left unanswered or proverbial stones left unturned.